Hospital stretcher



Sept. 12, 1967 Fild Oct. 24, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 tIEz-.E

AI'ORNEYS SeP 12, 1967 R. LAVALLEE 3,34l,246

HOSPITAL STRETCHER Filed Oct. 24, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MMM HW' RobertAVAEE AORNEYS Sept. 12, 1967 R. LAVALLEE 3.341,246

HOSPITAL STRETCHER Filed Oct. 24, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United StatesPatent O 3,341,246 HOSPITAL STRETCHER Robert Lavallee, Montreal, Quebec,Canada, assignor to Techlem Inc., St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada Filed Oct.24, 1965, Ser. No. 504,779 6 Claims. (Cl. 296-) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A hospital stretcher having a litter and two vertical postsfor supporting the litter and disposed along the longitudinal aXisthereof. Each post is formed of an inner and an outer telescopingelement. Both inner elements are pivoted at the upper end beneath theltter with the pivot of one inner element being movable in alongitudinal slot to allow relative displacement of the ltter and innerelement. A rod having a threaded end, having a nut threadedlydisplaceable thereon, is mounted for only rotation on one of the posts.A cable joins the nut and the lower end of the inner member of said onelpost and winds around a pulley arrangement. The inner and outerelements of the other post are a hydraulc piston and cylinder and ahydraulc pump is provided, the fluid of which displaces the piston inthe cylinder to cause displacement of the corresponding end of thelitter.

The present invention relates to a hospital stretcher which is usedparticularly for post-operative or emergency room care. Morespecifically, the invention relates to a hospital stretcher of a novelstructure, palticularly adaptable for the manipulation of a patient toand from his bed or from an Operating table.

A main object of the invention resides in the provision of a hospitalstretcher of the above mentioned type7 the litter of which can be madeto move directly over the bed so that the patient may be gentlytransferred into the bed without the danger of bumping over the ltterframe.

A further object of the invention consists in providing such a stretcherwherein the raising and lowering of the litter can be accomplished bythe feet of the user so that his hands are free for the transferring ofthe patient into the bed.

Yet another object of the invention resides in the provision of ahospital stretcher having side-rails for the protection of the patient,which side-rails are hinged underneath and retractable below the ltterwhen the latter is to be slid directly over the bed, the side-rail thusnot being an obstacle.

A still further object of the invention consists in providing the saidhospital stretcher with a braking device to lock the wheels to preventmovement of the stretcher during the transfer of the patient in the bedor on the operation table.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of such a hospitalstretcher wherein the litter can take up either full inclined positionor half-inclined position where only the back seat is raised.

The various aforesaid objects may be obtained with a hospital stretcheraccording to the invention which comprises: a horizontal ltter, at leasttwo supporting Vertical posts on which said ltter is mounted wherein atleast one of said posts is formed of telescoping inner and outerelements one of which is fixed to the litter. An Operating member isprovided for displacing the telescoping elements in relation to oneanother and there is an interconnecting means between the Operatingmember and one of the telescoping elements, such means being responsiveto operation of the Operating member to displace one of the telescopingelements in relation to the other in order to raisev the 1itter.

Patented Sept. 12, 1967 ICC The other post is also a telescoping elementassembly of the h-ydraulic piston and cylinder type with foot pedalOperating means for causing Vertical displacement of the elementconnected to the litter.

In order to afford greater safety for the patient, it is suggested toprovide such stretchers with side-rails that stand upright along eachlateral edge of the litter frame. According to the present invention,these side-rails have connecting members rigidly fixed thereto .andprojecting perpendicularly therefrom. The said members are hingedlyconnected at their outer free end to the undersurface of the framestructure and looking means are provided for holding the side-rails inraised position alongside the litter whenever the patient is beingcarried away. Such retractable rails make it possible both to providesafety for the patient while in transit yet allow the moving of thelitter over a bed when the said rails are retracted.

The litter posts are mounted on a wheeled undercarriage. A set ofrigidly interconnected legs are pivotally secured at their upper freeends to the understructure and a foot operated toggle mechanism isprovided, operable to force the legs against the floor on which thelitter stands and thus frictionally lock them in position againstslipping. This is a Safety precaution when the stretcher standsalongside the bed and the patient is being transferred on it.

Finally, the invention also contemplates the provision of a litterformed of a horizontal fixed seat rest and a back rest pivotable at oneend adjacent the seat rest. A downwardly projection lever is securedunderneath the back rest at the pivotable end thereof. A threaded rod ismounted, for rotation only, below the litter and a nut screw threadedlymovable on said threaded rod is also connected to the free end of thedownwardly projecting lever. Thus by rotating the said threaded rod, thenut travels axiall'y thereon and causes pivoting of the back rest.

Further objects and other advantages of the invention will be aifordedby the description that follows having regard to the annexed drawingswherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a hospital stretcher made according tothe invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional elevation along line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows, on an enlarged scale and in crosssectional elevation,the raising mechanism for the litter;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded part view of the ltter illustrating theconnecting joint of one of the posts to the litter'frame;

FIGURE 5 is a and partly broken nism;

. FIGURE 6 is a and partly broken rail device, and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective elevation view of the wheel braking mechanism.

FIGURES 1 and 2' generally illustrate the various mechanisms thatcombine to make up the stretcher of the invention.

The stretcher is formed of a litter 1 mounted on a litter frame 3supported by posts 5, 5' testing on an undercarriage structure 7 whichcomprises transverse axles 9 to which swivel casters 11 are connected.Finally, siderails 13 are shown mounted on either side of the framedperspective view, on an enlarged scale away, of the hydraulc cylindermechaperspective view, on an enlarged scale away, to illustrate theretractable sideltter 1, one of said side-rails being shown in retractedfor moving the ltter over a bed or an Operating table.

FIGURES 2., 3, 4l and 5 particularly illustrate the` raising mechanismfor the ltter 1 and frame 3.

As can be seen, each post 5 and 5' consists of telescoping inner andouter elements 15, 15' and 17, 17' respectively. In both instances,inner elements 15 and 15' are connected to transverse braces 19, 19' offrame 3.

In the case of post 5, as previously mentioned, elements 15 and 17 arethe two parts of a hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly wherein piston15 rests over a bath of oil 21 which has a communicating tube 23 leadingfrom the oil Chamber 21 to a pumping and releasing device of a knowntype and generally identified by numeral 25. As is known with such amechanism, depression of foot pedal 27 pivots a connecting link 29 whichin turn causes axial displacement of connecting rod 31 to actuate thehydraulic pump and create a pressure in oil chamber 21 causing theraising of inner element 15. Similarly, releasing of the pressure andlowering of inner element 15 is obtained by means of the release pedal33 acting through a similar leverage arrangement.

The second post 5' is a manually operating device and consists of anOperating member and interconnecting means between the said Operatingmember and one of the telescoping elements of post 5'. Theinterconnecting means is respons'ive to operation of the Operatingmember to displace the said one of said telescoping elements in relationto the other elements to effect raising of the litter.

In the example shown, the operating member is composed of two parts 35and 37 axially displaceable in relation to one another. Theinterconnecting means, in this case, is a cable 39.

Part 35 is a rod having a threaded end 41 over which is received theother part 37 which is a threaded nut having, thereon, a forwardlyprojecting flat bar 43. One end of cable 39 is secured to the end of theflat bar 43 and is trained around pulleys 45, 45', 45" to finally beconnected to the lower end of inner member 15' as at 47. Cable 39, inits way to the lower end of inner element 15', extends freely in a grove49, travels through a transverse passage 51 :and is finally tied asshown at 47.

The first pulley 45 may be mounted on a bracket 53 secured to the top ofinner element 15 of post 5 while pulleys 45' and 45" are mounted on alongitudinal brace member 55 (FIG. 2) which joins the posts 5 and 5'together. Rod 35 extends through a bearing support 57 which is L-shapedand has one part connected to the transverse brace 19'. Rod 35 isrotatable in -bearing support 57 but is non-axially displaceabletherein. Finally, the said rod 35 terminates into a crank 59 and ahandle 61.

As will be derived from the above description, rotation of handle 61 inthe counterclockwise direction, as shown by the arrow, will move nut 37and flat bar 43 rightward and consequently pull on cable 39. This inturn will cause upward movement of inner element 15'. Friction betweenthe various elements of the raising mechanism just described will besuficient to retain litter 1 in the raised position without any lockingbeing necessary.

Conversely, rotation of lever 61 in the clockwise direction will causemovement of nut 37 leftward and releasing of cable 39. Under thecircumstances, inner element 15' will be lowered under the action ofgravity.

Because of the 'change of inclination of litter 1, it becomes necessarythat one of the connections of the litter to posts 5 and 5' be permitteda certain lateral displacement. The particular structure proposed isdepicted in FIGURE 4. It consists of a box-like member 63 provided, ateach end thereof, with elongated slots 65. Box 63 is open at the topthereof as shown, and further has two openings 67 and 67' at each end ofthe closed side.

Box 63 works in conjunction with a pair of downwardly projecting lugs 69secured below brace 19'. Each of said lugs is provided with an aperture71.

Finally, the fiat portion 73 of the box, which lies between openings 67and 67', is also provided with a hole (not shown) for a purpose now tobe determined.

In assembling, the threaded end of inner member 15' is made to extendthrough the hole in flat portion 73 and element 15' is secured to box 63by means of nut 75. The box is thereafter slid along the lugs 69, asbest shown in FIGURE 3, and the assembly is secured by means of suitablenuts and bolts. Openings 67, 67' are provided for holding the said boltsin position while the nuts are being screwed thereon. However thescrewing of the bolts and nuts must still leave the lugs 69 loose inrelation to box 63 so that the bolts may freely slide in the slots 65.

Thus, there is provided means whereby inclination of the litter 1 willnot be hindered by the lengthening of the distance between the tops ofinner elements 5 and 5' when the litter is being raised to an inclinedposition.

A specific embodiment of the retractable side-rails, as proposed by theinvention, is illustrated in FIGURE 6. As shown, each side-rail isprovided, at the lower end thereof, with at least two perpendicularlyprojecting connecting members 77, the free ends of which are adapted tobe pivotally connected to the undersurface of frame 3, as at 79. Thelocking mechanism consists of two locking levers S1, one end of whichextends through a support 83 secured underneath braces 19, 19'. lncooperation therewith, each connecting member 77 provides a short lug 85which projects slightly past the lateral edge of the connecting memberin overhanging fashion. Finally, an Operating arm 87 is provided whichis pivotally connected to a support 89 projecting from a central brace91. The other ends of locking levers 81 are connected, on either side ofsupport 89, to operating arm 87.

As will readily be understood from FIGURE 6, when side-rail 13 isreleased from the locking mechanism, it will pivot at 79 an-d fall belowthe framed litter 3. As the stretcher is moved with the litter over abed, the side-rail 13 will move further underneath the litter -until itreaches the position of FIGURE 1 where it is close to posts 5 and 5' andout of the way. When it is to be used, the side-rail is raised until itreaches the position shown on the left- Ward side of FIGURE 1. In thatposition, operating arm 87 is turned clockwise to move locking levers 81outwardly so that their ends come into supporting engagement beneath theprojecting part of lugs 85. In that position, the side-rails will |be inlocked engagement.

In FIGURE 7 is shown a wheel locking mechanism for preventing thestretcher from 'moving away when a patient is being transferred from thelitter to a bed or to an operating table.

This locking mechanism consists of two sets of legs 93 pivotallyconnected at the upper end thereof, as at 95, to the undercarriage ofthe stretcher. Intermediate the ends thereof, the sets of legs areinterconnected by a movement transmitting bar 97. Each set of legs 93 isfixe'dly secured to this bar 97 so that movement of one of the sets willbe transmitted to the other set.

Also pivotally connected, as at 99, to the 'undercar-riage of thestretcher, are two links 101. Projecting substantially perpendicularlyintermediate the ends of links 101 are two supports 103 at the end ofwhich is fixed an operating locking pedal 105. Two transmitting arms 107are 'pivotally connected, at one end, to the free ends of links 101 and,at the other end, securely fixed at the transverse rod 109 to which isalso secured the bar 97. Finally, a spring 111 is connected between bar97 and post 5' by means of a hook 113.

The operation of this wheel locking device is as follows:

In FIGURES 2 and 7, the device is shown locked while the pedal in dottedline is in unlocked position. In moving pedal counterclockwise torelease the wheel lock, links 101 also move counterclockwise aroundpivot 99. This brings a traction onto transmittin'g arms 107 whichtherefore, pull on the rod 109 forcing legs 93 to pivot about theirpivot points 115 of the undercarriage. Whenever it is -desred to lockthe Wheels the reverse procedure is carried out.

The pivoting mechanism for raising the back rest 117 of the litter isillustrated in FIGURE 2. It consists of a -rod 119 similar to rod 35 andthreaded at one end 121 for the reception of a nut 123 to which arepivotally connected levers 125 and 127. Rod 123 is made t'o pivot in abearing support 129 in a similar manner to the bearin'g of rod 35 insupport 57. Any known actuating mechanism such as crank 131 may 'beprovided to cause rotation of rod 119. It will be understood thatrotation of rod 119 will cause the displacement of nut 123 andsu'bsequent pivoting of back rest 117 through levers 125 and 127.

Although a specfic embodiment of the invention has just been described,it will be understood that many modifications may be made theretowithout departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of whichis set forth in the appe'nded claims.

1.` A hospital stretcher comprising: a horizontal litter; two supportingvertical posts on which said litter is mounted and ydisposed axiallycentrally thereof; said posts being formed of telescoping inner an-douter elements; said inner elements being connected to said litter; aneX- tensible Operating member for one of said posts, and interconnectingflexible 'means between said operating member and said inner element ofsaid one post responsive to extension of said Operating member todsplace the inner element in relation to the outer element wherein saidoperatin-g member is fonmed of a manually rotatable rod having a screwthreaded end and a nut threadedly received on said end and axiallydisplaceable on said rod, wherein said interconnecting means is a cablefixed at one end to said nut and at the other end to the lower end ofsaid inner element, and a pulley arrange'ment around which said cable istrained.

2. A hospital stretcher as claimed n clam 1, wherein said other post isa hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly and 'foot pedal pumping andreleasing means for'causing actuation of said assernbly.

3. A hospital stretcher comprising: a horizontal litter; two spacedVertical posts for supporting said litter along the longitudinal centerline thereof; each post formed of an inner and an 'outer telescopingelement; said inner element of each post pvoted to sai-d litter; meansconnecting one of said inner elements to said litter to allow relativedisplacement of said litter and said one of said inner element duringchange of inclination of said litter; a rod, having a threaded end,mounted only for rotation on one of said posts beneath said litter; anut threadedly mounted and freely displaceable on the threaded end ofsaid rod; a cable fixed to said nut and to the lower end of said inner'member of said one post and pulley means mounted lbeneath said litterfor 'guiding said cable; the inner and outer elements of said other postbeing 'respectively a hydraulic piston and cylinder, and a hydraulic,foot pedal pumping and releasing means for causing displacement of saidpiston and of the corresponding end of said litter.

4. A stretcher as claimed in clam 3, wherein said litter is a framedstructure; sde-rails; said side-rails having connecting members rigidlyfixed to and projectin-g perpendieularly therefrom; 'means hingedlyconnecting said members at their outer free end to the undersurface ofsaid framed structure and releasable locking means for holding saidside-rails in raised position alongside said litter.

5. A stretcher as claimed in clam 3, wherein said posts are mounted on aWheeled undercarriage; a set of rigidly interconnected legs pivotallymounted at their upper free ends to said undercarrage and a footoperated toggle -rnechanisrn operable to force said le'gs against thefloor on which said litter stands and frictionally lock it in position.

6. A stretcher as claimed in clam 3, wherein said litter is formed of ahorizontal fixed seat rest and a back rest pivotable at one end adjacentsaid seat rest; a downvwardly projecting lever seoured to said back restat the pivotable end thereof; a threaded rod mounted for rotation only'below said litter; a nut screw threadedly movable on said threaded rod;the free end Iof said downward lever being pivotally connected to saidnut whereby rotation of said lever Will prod-uce displacement of saidnut and pivotin'g of said back rest.

References Cited 8/1966 Tabbert 296-20 LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.PHILIP GOODMAN, Examiner.

1. A HOSPITAL STRETCHER COMPRISING: A HORIZONTAL LITTER; TWO SUPPORTINGVERTICAL POSTS ON WHICH SAID LITTER IS MOUNTED AND DISPOSED AXIALLYCENTRALLY THEREOF; SAID POSTS BEING FORMED OF TELESCOPING INNER ANDOUTER ELEMENTS; SAID INNER ELEMENTS BEING CONNECTED TO SAID LITTER; ANEXTENSIBLE OPERATING MEMBER FOR ONE OF SAID POSTS, AND INTERCONNECTINGFLEXIBLE MEANS BETWEEN SAID OPERATING MEMBER AND SAID INNER ELEMENT OFSAID ONE POST RESPONSIVE TO EXTENSION OF SAID OPERATING MEMBER TODISPLACE THE INNER ELEMENT IN RELATION TO THE OUTER ELEMENT WHEREIN SAIDOPERATING MEMBER IS FORMED OF A MANUALLY ROTATABLE ROD HAVING A SCREWTHREADED END AND A NUT THREADEDLY RECEIVED ON SAID END AND AXIALLYDISPLACEABLE ON SAID ROD, WHEREIN SAID INTERCONNECTING MEANS IS A CABLEFIXED AT ONE END TO SAID NUT AND AT THE OTHER END TO THE LOWER END OFSAID INNER ELEMENT, AND A PULLEY ARRANGEMENT AROUND WHICH SAID CABLE ISTRAINED.